Cardinals Outfielder Finally Reaching Full Potential as Breakout Star

"The Cardinals were wondering if Walker would ever reach his potential after he was named the organization’s top prospect in 2022," Ladson wrote. "He had a tough time making contact during the next three years. This season is a different story, however. Walker is St. Louis’ most productive hitter and entered Saturday with a slash line of .315/.375/.685 with a NL-leading eight home runs.

"Working in the hitting lab at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium during March has paid dividends for Walker, who has slowed things down in the batter’s box and is ready for any pitch coming to the plate. The Cardinals often complained about Walker hitting too many ground balls over the years. Entering Sunday’s action, Walker’s launch angle is at 15.7 degrees, up from the 10.3-degree mark he recorded last year. A more upright stance has helped improve that number."

This season, Walker is slashing .305/.367/.646 with an OPS over 1.000 and eight home runs early in the season. He's on pace to set career highs across the board this year.

Walker is hitting everything hard, and he's been much better at elevating it this year than ever before. He's not swinging a lot, only swinging 49.7 percent of the time, but that's helped his out-of-zone swing rate to improve, too.

Walker ranks near the top of the league in wOBA and xwOBA. That means he's producing at an elite level, and he's not getting lucky. He ranks near the top of the league in average exit velocity, 90th percentile exit velocity, and max exit velocity. Every time he puts the bat on the ball, it seems to be loud contact.

He should continue trending in this direction as the days, weeks, months, and years go by.